Working Smarter - How Stopping Can Get You There Quicker

We can busy for the whole of our waking hours. This is particularly true in professional life when it seems there are not enough hours in the day. While it is important to get things done, it is counter-productive to just bash on regardless.

If you were climbing a mountain - and sometimes work feels just like that! - you would pause sometimes to check your bearings. Are you still heading the right way? Circumstances could have changed since you started the climb - have you taken them into account?

While we can't reflect on everything that happens, it is critical that we do reflect. Only then can we see what is working well and what we need to do differently.

You may know the story from Stephen Covey about the woodcutter who was having a really tough time felling a tree. When asked why he didn't stop and sharpen the saw, he replied that he didn't have time for that!

To use a more modern analogy, if you were to take your car on a long journey you wouldn't ignore the fuel gauge. You'd stop when necessary to fill up so as to avoid breakdown on the road. Stopping gets you to your destination quicker.

In the Story of Creation, after six busy days even God takes time on the seventh day to reflect. Here is the origin of the traditional 'day of rest' which points to the wisdom of having regular times to reflect.

The challenge is, of course, to find time in a busy schedule. So look closely because the time may already be there - you may just need to recognise it. Here are 10 suggestions to get you started:

* a particular part of your travel time

* a regular walk within the building or around the workplace

* your morning coffee break

* a few minutes at your desk at certain time(s) of day

* part of your lunch break away from the workplace

* a weekly slot booked in your diary

* a session with a coach

* simple meditation at home

* time with a buddy

* writing a daily journal

Fortunately reflection time can be as little as a few minutes. Whatever the duration, it is useful to have a structure you can follow. For example, Tim Gallwey offers his STOP tool in 'The Inner Game of Work'. It has 4 stages (one for each letter of the word STOP):

1. Step back

Move your attention outside the current activity. On the mountain, this would be the moment to pause to consult the map.

2. Think

Gallwey says "There is a shift in the thinking gears [ ] to either rest or engage in a different level of thinking". When climbing the mountain, the single mental focus on upward movement broadens to checking direction, well-being, resources, weather and so on.

3. Organise Your Thoughts

This is the 'so what?' from your thinking. This is particularly useful where you have been thinking creatively and need to pull your thoughts together. What actions arise? What's next on the mountain?

4. Proceed

Reconnect with your task - resume climbing - refreshed and bringing new insights and strategies.

You can use STOP whenever you want to but you will get the most benefit when you make it habitual and therefore automatic. Then you don't have to rely on pure will-power (which may be not entirely reliable!)

Start with a short regular time, say five minutes. As you see the benefits, you can step up to longer or more frequent levels. Build the STOP habit into your week and reach your goals quicker!